Hospital policy has troubling effects

EDITOR: Let's see if I have this straight. The chairman of the Early Years Coalition states that its sole purpose is "to provide the most accessible and beneficial information ... (to) foster the success of our very young children." Yet, at an event to which all members were invited and asked to present information about their services, the organization that hosted the event, Ministry Saint Clare's Hospital, censored the material displayed by one of the members, material that was accurate and relevant to the mission of the coalition.

For truth in advertising, the coalition will need to qualify its purpose by inserting after "information" the clause "that is acceptable to the host organization."

On April 1, Ministry Saint Clare's Hospital became part of Ascension Health Systems, which in 2012 was the third-largest health system in the nation with over 70 hospitals and total operating revenues of $16.6 billion. The above example of its heavyhanded application of its guidelines seems fairly harmless, but it is a clear demonstration of the extent to which Catholic hospitals will go to purge all medical literature, practices, procedures and advice that conflict with the beliefs of the Catholic Church.

If you are a patient, options for your care that as a reasonable person you might want to know are simply omitted. Clearly something in addition to the success of a young child could be put at risk.